Today, I am rewriting my parent letter. Two years ago the letter was just over half page long and had a few details about preschool. Now, I find I write a full page and place key words in bold so parents may at least read the bold letters. It will also be what I go over at the parent orientation. Think of the parent letter as a syllabus.
In my letter I lay out what I find to be the most important items about preschool, and the items that I have weekly conversations with parents about. This way I can also reference this sheet of paper later in the year to remind parents as to how we make preschool run "smoothly."
Items I have included in my parent letter:
- Label everything. - I can't tell you how many times I've picked up a jacket on the playground and wondered if it belongs to us or the classroom next door or find a random water bottle in the classroom. Parents think "oh yes, my child will remember this is theirs." They may, but so will about 3 other children.
- Nap time supplies - I remind parents what size pillow case to bring in (somehow parents read that as "crib sheet"?) and how often to take items home to be laundered. The answer is weekly. Weekly does not mean when your child has attended for 5 days.
- Extra clothes in cubbies - I always remind parents to put socks and underwear in the extra clothes section of their cubbies. When a kiddo has an accident, don't just check the shorts, check the socks too. This is also where I make the request of closed toed shoes/ sandals. Flip flops guarantee a boo boo note home most days.
- Healthy lunches - I remind parents that candy will be taken away and placed in the child's mailbox and usually attached to their daily note with a reminder about our candy-free zone. We eat lunch just before nap time. Sugar is the enemy. I also provide a few examples of lunches to give parents who don't have pinterest a bit of creativity. I also ask parents to pack items in easy open containers to give kiddos some independance. The most street cred goes to the child who can open their own capri sun.
- Birthdays - Cupcakes were the best part of being a kid stuck in school on your birthday. I let parents know at this point we celebrate birthdays after nap time and that cupcakes or rice crispy treats are perfectly fine. Also, the more similar each cupcake or treat is, the better. Of course, there will be a parent who will ask if they can bring in a big sheet cake. No. 3 year olds have eagle eyes for who's piece has more frosting or millimeters larger than theirs.
You may have more items to add to your parent letter that is more specific to your classroom. Just remember, the parent letter is not a podium or a place to rant. It's the place to set up the boundaries and welcome in the little cuties and parents that will be filling your classroom.
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